Interorbital Systems
Encyclopedia
Interorbital Systems Corporation (IOS) is an American aerospace company based in Mojave, California
. It was founded in 1996 by Roderick and Randa Milliron, who also co-founded Trans Lunar Research.
Interorbital Systems is currently working on a line of launch vehicles aimed at winning the Google Lunar X Prize
. The company was also a competitor for both the Ansari X-Prize and America's Space Prize
.
and Turpentine
, derived from pine trees and quaker oats, for oxidizer and fuel. The CPM is designed to maximize simplicity - it uses no turbopumps and no ignition system (because of the hypergolic propellants).
The Neptune 45's maiden launch is planned for 2011. As of mid 2010, Interorbital Systems had a manifest to deliver 32 TubeSats and 10 CubeSats.
designed for low-altitude suborbital flight, for the purpose of testing systems of its larger follow-on rockets.
IOS holds an active Office of Commercial Space Transportation
Launch License for
Tachyon, a sounding rocket designed for a 120-mile apogee suborbital flight.
. It did not get off the ground in time and was beaten by Scaled Composites
' SpaceShipOne.
at the Mojave Airport & Spaceport and conducts testbed launches from the Mojave Desert, it plans to develop and implement a method for launching directly from the water without a launch platform. The vehicle is towed into position by a 33 m (100 ft) crew boat, then a ballast is suspended from the submerged tail-section to provide proper orientation and stability during launch. According to IOS, sea launches are inherently less dangerous than land launches because they reduce the chance of damage to people or property in the event of a failed launch. As a result it is easier and less expensive to obtain a license for sea operations, and the added bonus of extra orbital velocity resulting from a launch directly on the equator.
At the same time Interorbital Systems is seeking permission from the U.S. Department of State to build their own land based spaceport on the island of 'Eua, Kingdom of Tonga. This spaceport will be run under US laws.
Mojave, California
Mojave is a census-designated place in Kern County, California, United States. Mojave is located east of Bakersfield, at an elevation of 2762 feet...
. It was founded in 1996 by Roderick and Randa Milliron, who also co-founded Trans Lunar Research.
Interorbital Systems is currently working on a line of launch vehicles aimed at winning the Google Lunar X Prize
Google Lunar X Prize
The Google Lunar X PRIZE, abbreviated GLXP, sometimes referred to as Moon 2.0, is a space competition organized by the X Prize Foundation, and sponsored by Google. It was announced at the Wired Nextfest on 13 September 2007...
. The company was also a competitor for both the Ansari X-Prize and America's Space Prize
America's Space Prize
America's Space Prize was a US$50 million space competition in orbital spaceflight established and funded in 2004 by hotel entrepreneur Robert Bigelow. The prize would have been awarded to the first US-based privately-funded team to design and build a reusable manned capsule capable of flying 5...
.
Current research and development
Interorbital Systems is currently pursuing two separate lines of research. The first is Sea Star TSAAHTO, a small rocket capable of delivering small satellite payloads into orbit, and so generate capital for pursuing the companies flagship program: the Neptune; a line of launch vehicles designed to put humans into orbit.Common Propulsion Module
All of Interorbital's rocket designs are based on the Common Propulsion Module (CPM). The CPM is a small, self-contained rocket system. Multiple CPMs are combined through parallel staging to meet varying mission requirements. Though they have experimented with cryogenic fuel, Interorbital currently uses the green, storable, hypergolic White fuming nitric acidWhite fuming nitric acid
White fuming nitric acid is a storable liquid oxidizer used with kerosene and hydrazine rocket fuel. It consists of nearly pure nitric acid . WFNA is commonly specified as containing no more than 2% water and less than 0.5% dissolved nitrogen dioxide or dinitrogen tetroxide.WFNA was sometimes...
and Turpentine
Turpentine
Turpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees. It is composed of terpenes, mainly the monoterpenes alpha-pinene and beta-pinene...
, derived from pine trees and quaker oats, for oxidizer and fuel. The CPM is designed to maximize simplicity - it uses no turbopumps and no ignition system (because of the hypergolic propellants).
Orbital spaceflight program
Neptune is a line of launch vehicles, consisting of the Neptune 30, the Neptune 45, the Neptune 1000, and the Neptune TSAAHTO. All of these configurations are based on combinations of "common propulsion modules" (CPM, essentially long tubes of rocket fuel). The liquid oxidizer and fuel used is white fuming nitric acid (WFNA) and Hydrocarbon-X (HX).The Neptune 45's maiden launch is planned for 2011. As of mid 2010, Interorbital Systems had a manifest to deliver 32 TubeSats and 10 CubeSats.
- The Neptune 30 delivers 30 kilo payloads into low Earth orbitLow Earth orbitA low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...
. It is a three-stage rocket composed of five CPM. - The Neptune 45 delivers 45 kilo payloads into low Earth orbit. It is a three-stage rocket composed of seven CPM. These two configurations are intended for launching CubeSatCubeSatA CubeSat is a type of miniaturized satellite for space research that usually has a volume of exactly one liter , has a mass of no more than 1.33 kilograms, and typically uses commercial off-the-shelf electronics components...
s, TubeSats, and other small satellites. - The Neptune 1000 is designed to launch a one tonne payload into low-earth orbit or a 190 kg payload to Earth escape velocity. The rocket is composed of 33 common propulsion modules, and makes up the Interorbital Systems's contribution to SYNERGY MOON a three-company attempt to win the Google Lunar X PrizeGoogle Lunar X PrizeThe Google Lunar X PRIZE, abbreviated GLXP, sometimes referred to as Moon 2.0, is a space competition organized by the X Prize Foundation, and sponsored by Google. It was announced at the Wired Nextfest on 13 September 2007...
. - The Neptune TSAAHTO, the largest design, can be fitted to carry either cargo or human passengers. To do so, the Crew Module has been designed. This space capsuleSpace capsuleA space capsule is an often manned spacecraft which has a simple shape for the main section, without any wings or other features to create lift during atmospheric reentry....
is to be capable of housing five crew members and a pilot, and sits atop the Neptune TSAAHTO during launch. The rocket itself is composed of eight large common propulsion modules and eight small common propulsion modules and can place a 7,000-pound payload into a 250-mile 51º orbit.
Sounding rockets
Interorbital Systems has successfully tested a number of rocket engines in the 500-5,000 lbf (2 to 22 kN) thrust range and conducted flight tests of its small testbed, Neutrino. Neutrino is a sounding rocketSounding rocket
A sounding rocket, sometimes called a research rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The origin of the term comes from nautical vocabulary, where to sound is to throw a weighted line from a ship into...
designed for low-altitude suborbital flight, for the purpose of testing systems of its larger follow-on rockets.
IOS holds an active Office of Commercial Space Transportation
Office of Commercial Space Transportation
The Office of Commercial Space Transportation is the branch of the United States Federal Aviation Administration that approves any commercial rocket launch operations—that is, any launches that are not classified as model, amateur, or "by and for the government."-Overview:Under...
Launch License for
Tachyon, a sounding rocket designed for a 120-mile apogee suborbital flight.
Retired designs
SolarX was a suborbital rocket design that was IOS' attempt to win the Ansari X PrizeAnsari X Prize
The Ansari X Prize was a space competition in which the X Prize Foundation offered a US$10,000,000 prize for the first non-government organization to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks...
. It did not get off the ground in time and was beaten by Scaled Composites
Scaled Composites
Scaled Composites is an aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan and currently owned by Northrop Grumman that is located at the Mojave Spaceport, Mojave, California, United States...
' SpaceShipOne.
Launch sites
Interorbital Systems' prototypes are all designed to be amphibious (capable of launch from land or sea). Although IOS currently tests its spacecraftSpacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
at the Mojave Airport & Spaceport and conducts testbed launches from the Mojave Desert, it plans to develop and implement a method for launching directly from the water without a launch platform. The vehicle is towed into position by a 33 m (100 ft) crew boat, then a ballast is suspended from the submerged tail-section to provide proper orientation and stability during launch. According to IOS, sea launches are inherently less dangerous than land launches because they reduce the chance of damage to people or property in the event of a failed launch. As a result it is easier and less expensive to obtain a license for sea operations, and the added bonus of extra orbital velocity resulting from a launch directly on the equator.
At the same time Interorbital Systems is seeking permission from the U.S. Department of State to build their own land based spaceport on the island of 'Eua, Kingdom of Tonga. This spaceport will be run under US laws.
See also
- Private spaceflightPrivate spaceflightPrivate spaceflight is flight above Earth altitude conducted by and paid for by an entity other than a government. In the early decades of the Space Age, the government space agencies of the Soviet Union and United States pioneered space technology augmented by collaboration with affiliated design...
- Orbital spaceflightOrbital spaceflightAn orbital spaceflight is a spaceflight in which a spacecraft is placed on a trajectory where it could remain in space for at least one orbit. To do this around the Earth, it must be on a free trajectory which has an altitude at perigee above...
- Sub-orbital spaceflightSub-orbital spaceflightA sub-orbital space flight is a spaceflight in which the spacecraft reaches space, but its trajectory intersects the atmosphere or surface of the gravitating body from which it was launched, so that it does not complete one orbital revolution....
- OTRAGOTRAGOTRAG , was a German company based in Stuttgart, which planned in the late 1970s and early 1980s to develop an alternative propulsion system for rockets. OTRAG was the first commercial developer and producer of space launch vehicles...
, which used a similar modular rocket design